Author / Bethe

by Bethe

It’s that time again

It’s here! It’s here! Baseball season has returned! It’s just like an old friend… comfortable, familiar, happy. Thanks to a generous fellow fan, I scored a last-minute ticket on the THIRD row, and I can’t wait to sit outside and enjoy all the sights and smells of the ballpark. Even better, I’ll be playing hookie from work (with my boss’ blessing, of course). I love opening day.

I’m already craving a hotdog… must be time for some baseball!
by Bethe

Death, decay, and Scrabble?

Apparently I’m the only person who’s still single… not that there’s anything wrong with that (Seinfeld reference). According to this article, as the stock market goes down, popularity of online dating sites goes up. I think the stock market will have to hit rock bottom before I join, though. Something about online dating still creeps me out. But I do love how they hypothesize the reason behind the uptick to be that folks would rather save their money and “stay home to play scrabble.” Hmm… is Scrabble really considered a hot date these days?

Speaking of being single… it’s really okay, 99% of the time. But there’s that 1% of me that’s a bit scared of turning out like this lady… she was dead SIX YEARS before anybody noticed! If any of you notice that you haven’t seen me in awhile, please feel free to check in and make sure I’m alive. Really. Please. 
by Bethe

Out of hiding

I decided to play hooky over the weekend. Instead of hanging out with my friends, or doing homework, or really doing anything I was “supposed” to do, I hid out for 24 hours and had a “Bethe Day” all to myself. It was glorious. Not necessarily exciting… I did all of those things I never do… I vacuumed underneath my bed, cleaned floorboards, organized my closet, hooked up a printer (okay, friend Kevin stopped by to do that), went to the grocery store, and I even finally bought the hardware to hang the curtains that I bought back on January 1. From Friday night (when I watched Twilight… while eating Parisian chocolates… my perfect evening) until Saturday night, I did my best to regain control of my out-of-control life. I de-stressed, recharged my batteries, and it was fantastic. Today, I was ready to face the world once again, with a new energy, a revitalized spirit, and a positive attitude.

And thanks to everyone who checked in on me to make sure I was okay. I’m absolutely fine. I love to live a life filled with adrenaline and projects and “stuff,” and it only takes me a day or so to recharge my batteries for quite awhile. Oh yeah, and I’m getting a massage tomorrow night, which means I’m good for another month or two.

Today I played flag football with my friends from church and enjoyed an absolutely beautiful afternoon at the park. Have I mentioned how fantastic my church is? Really… it’s pretty darn special.  


I also wanted to post a photo from my neighborhood supper club, which met last Thursday at Sister Sarah’s house. At the moment I feel like my life is one long episode of Friends (except my life is G-rated)… there are a few moments in life that I wish I could bottle, or take a photo of, and freeze forever. My current group of friends are one of those… I have been inundated with cool people to hang out with, and I realize that it’s an absolute blessing. Just last year I was praying fervently for God to bring me a few close friends, and instead he decided to open up the floodgates. I am so blessed. Here’s a photo of just a few of the folks who came to our monthly neighborhood dinner last week.

Okay, enough rambling for one night. I’m off to tackle a 300 page book that I need to read by Thursday (does anybody know if there’s a Cliffs Notes for The Razor’s Edge? Because that book is B-O-R-I-N-G). Time to dust off those rusty speed reading skills.
by Bethe

I did it…

Well kids, I crossed over to the dark side. I joined Twitter. I didn’t want to… it was totally against my will. I don’t have time for yet another Web 2.0 program that will probably help me waste valuable time that I can never seem to find enough of anyway. 

But I did it for work. I’m supposed to be a social networking guru. I need to know all of the new and innovative ways to promote my organization, and doing that means I’ve gotta know the latest technology tools. I’m already a webmaster (times three, actually), a blogger, a Facebook user, a former MySpace junkie, and now I guess I’m a Twit. The sacrifices I make for work…
So do me a favor and look me up so I have some friends to tweet with. Because goodness knows I have no idea how to find you on there. The whole thing seems rather silly and redundant. Then again, I said that at first about Facebook, and now I think it’s pure genius. 
Oh, and my professor is making us start a blog to share info with other classmates about social media junk. From what I can tell, I think we’re graded based on the traffic we generate and the comments we get from readers. Which means that I may be calling in a favor and asking you to visit our silly little site to make up some random comment so you can help a girl get her A. I’ll let you know soon… if you help me out, maybe I’ll come wash your car or paint your living room. he he.
by Bethe

Eureka! And other things…

To decompress after a long couple of days, I went for a three-mile jog around the lake near my house. I typically run there on Saturday mornings, and there’s usually another runner or two, but it’s never crowded. Tonight, right after work, my little trail was packed! It felt so nice and neighborly. I’ve become a real sucker for suburban life… I love the little Leave It To Beaver moments I get every now and then in my happy little neighborhood. –sigh–

While running tonight I had one of those Eureka moments… actually several, but just one that I’ll talk about. After several weeks of stressing about what to do my final project on (to finish  my master’s I have to do a final project this fall, similar to a thesis, with a committee of professors, I’ll have to defend it, and it will be horribly long). The whole thing gives me a stomach ache whenever I think about it, mainly because it sounds like another boring task that will suck away all my spare time as I compile 50 pages of useless information that nobody will ever read or care about.
And I have to pick that useless topic ASAP. Like yesterday, if I want to graduate in December.
But tonight as I ran, it hit me! I know exactly what my project will be, and this one will be fun and interesting and might even involve a few celebrity encounters. Plus I’ll be able to use some of the research I’ve already done (thank you God!) which should save me from starting from scratch. I’ve still got to work out a few details, but as soon as I get the needed permission from the necessary folks, you all will be the first to know! 
In the meantime, here’s some stuff that I got a kick out of today… maybe you will too!
Who says research can’t be fun? While working on that blogging ethics paper, I stumbled across this hilariously hateful exchange between the editor of a major-market newspaper and a very disgruntled journalism college professor, who accused the paper of plagiarizing its code of ethics… oh the irony! Anyway, it’s quite entertaining to watch the exchange get more and more heated. I like to picture their little red faces, veins popping out of their necks, sweat collecting on their strained foreheads, as they conjure up an appropriate comeback to one-up the other. It’s pure gold, my friends. In case it helps, Steve Smith is the editor.
Did you know AIG is going to change its name? Like maybe we won’t notice and suddenly think, “Whatever happened to that AIG anyway?” Slick, AIG, very slick.
And finally, because you know I can’t stand him… A-Fraud is involved in yet another scandal. Apparently Madonna may not have been his first indiscretion. Imagine that.
by Bethe

Stay in school, kids

Oh the irony. Tomorrow I’ll be speaking to a group of UTA marketing/PR students. You know, trying to mold the minds of tomorrow’s leaders. 

Which makes what I did yesterday that much more deplorable.
There’s two very cute, right-out-of-college girls in some of my grad school classes. They’re a bit overwhelmed (it’s that part of the semester where we’re all a tad bit stressed), and one emailed me and asked for advice. She was so sweet… she said I was always encouraging, and she wanted me to remind her why she was getting her master’s.
But she caught me on a night when I was particularly “over” school. Probably because I spent six hours on my Friday night doing homework. Plus another two evenings last week. Tonight, I did four hours after work. More of the same tomorrow. And probably Friday night too. So when she asked me for encouragement, what she got instead was…
The truth. I told her to run away, as fast as she can, while she still has a semblance of a social life left. I told her that I was sick of missing out on fun things, new hobbies, hanging out with friends, playing in softball leagues, and altogether having a simple, laid-back life. I told her to quit and to never look back. I was joking, of course. I thought she could tell.
Sometimes people don’t “get” my sense of humor.
Next thing I know I’m getting emails from both girls, telling me that they agree and they’re ready to quit. Eeek! No, please don’t quit grad school because of me! I don’t want to be *that girl* who ruined your academic career just because I was in a particularly cantankerous mood one evening. I called my mom, and to make me feel better, she admitted that she once talked a co-worker out of going back and finishing her undergraduate degree. She told her to go play with her grandkids instead. That very day the lady withdrew from her college algebra class and never returned. Another drop-out attributed to my family. Great. People really shouldn’t come to us for academic advice (ironic, since my mother is a teacher with a master’s degree, married to a man who used to be a professor with two master’s degrees).
I probably won’t mention that part tomorrow during the Q&A session with the college kids. I’m going to put on my best smile and sweetly yet assertively tell them to stay in school. Finish your degree. And don’t listen to sarcastic girls if they tell you differently. We’re usually just joking.
by Bethe

Just one more

How many schnoodles can I have before I become the canine equivalent of the crazy cat lady?

It may be fate… a dog named Finn… just like one of my favorite Mark Twain boys, or Finny from A Separate Peace. This adorable little Schnoodle (the little guy on the bottom left of this photo) was rescued by an old college friend, and she can’t find his owner. He’s probably about a year old, completely potty trained, and quite cuddly. And he needs a good home. 
I don’t need another dog. Harley and I have done quite well together over the past seven years. But this little ball of fur and indiscretion is just so darn cute that I may not be able to say no.  What do you think?
by Bethe

Just one more

How many Schnoodles can I have before I become the canine equivalent of the crazy cat lady?

An old sorority sister is trying to find a new home for a stray schnoodle who followed her home a month ago. He’s a year old, potty-trained, and apparently very love-able. He’s the cute little guy in the bottom left side of this photo. I just love that he’s cuddling with her other two dogs.

I have always